By IANS,
Baghdad: Iraqi lawmakers have opposed the execution of two top military officials of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime, warning that it could lead to sectarian conflicts, Xinhua reported Saturday.
“We demand the presidency not to ratify the execution of Sultan Hashim and Hussein Rashid, because they are symbols of the Iraqi military and the history of the Iraqi army is a witness for their professionalism,” Hassan al-Jubouri, a Sunni legislator told reporters in Baghdad.
Iraqi Ministry of Justice said Friday in a statement that it had received Thursday 196 prisoners, including five senior officials of the former regime, detained at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport from the US military.
The five officials include Saddam’s two half-brothers Watban Ibrahim and Sabawi Ibrahim, former defence minister Sultan Hashim Ahmed, former chief of staff Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti and a top official of Saddam’s Baath party Aziz Saleh al-Numan, the statement said.
They have been sentenced to death in different trials from 2007 to 2011, the statement added.